Visitors from NY
Our friends, Sara and Jeremy Kennedy, of New York City, paid us a visit last week. It was so great to welcome a couple of our world-favorite people to the boat, and to share our new lifestyle with them.
Apart from simply looking glamorous on the "yacht," Sara and Jeremy endured the maddening Jamaican Customs authority to bring us loads of needed boat gear from the States, including a new solar panel, handheld radio, hand compass, a sail palm and sewing needles, plus books, raingear, new shoes, and yummy NYC goodies like Greek olives, babaganoush, fresh pita bread and nuts!
We ate and drank well, snorkeled and swam, and somehow we all fit snugly into Sea Quill's little cabin. Nature obliged us with great weather, and even a visitation from a pod of dolphins. Ulf and Jeremy fished, but nothing was biting, not even for the local fishermen. Luckily, Shine Eye Jerk, the best jerk chicken in Port Antonio, is just a dinghy ride away.
Our friend Ovrel took us to a great local event one night -- the opening party for Viveen's new restaurant.
On a residential backstreet, Viveen, in her walk-up kitchen, cooked up a seafood feast. A DJ with a turntable and a "mobile unit" -- a pick-up truck with gigantic speakers facing out every window and hatch -- turned out a great reggae set, while adults and kids ate and talked, ambled and grooved. When our food was ready, some guys grabbed a table and chairs from the shadows, and we were served a delicious sit-down dinner in the middle of the street.
One morning, George Monroe, Senior, whose son George runs Errol Flynn Marina, treated us to a cruise up the coast in his beautiful fishing boat, Southern Cross.
Mr. Monroe is a retired sailing pilot and Port Antonio native. He showed us a pristine harbor anchorage and some gorgeous waypoints, along with some local history.
The next day, we battened down everything on Sea Quill -- transforming her from "houseboat" to "sailboat" -- and headed out for a short day sail.
We explored Navy Island on foot, in search of wild things... and we found a few, including this bright green lizard, and a giant, tealy hummingbird, plus nature's riot on the abandoned Errol Flynn huts.
The last morning, we dinghied out to the reef to snorkel, and saw a large stingray, half-buried in the sand, its two bulbous eyes protruding and open, watching us watching it.
Sara and Jeremy, thanks for coming! We had the best time -- and we miss you.